This blog continues the discussion that we began with Epic Journey: The 2008 Elections and American Politics (Rowman and Littlefield, 2009).The latest book in this series is Defying the Odds: the 2016 Elections and American Politics.

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Defying the Odds

New book about the 2016 election.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Freedom Caucus and Club for Growth

Rumor swirls that Freedom Caucus & Club for Growth are in cahoots. We’ve been hearing for a while that some lawmakers and political operatives aligned with House GOP leadership are growing increasingly concerned that the powerful conservative outside group Club for Growth is taking marching orders from their arch-nemesis: The House Freedom Caucus. So, yours truly went to track this rumor down.

What we found was that it’s pretty obvious why they believed there was some unholy coordination going on: 1.) All Club-backed House contenders this year are members of, or endorsed by, the Freedom Caucus. 2.) The Club's super PAC has spent $3.7 million to boost a half-dozen Republican primary candidates who've pledged publicly or privately to join the Freedom Caucus 3.) Some of the candidates' policy positions are at odds with some of the Club's positions, raising eyebrows among its detractors. 4.) And one operative told us they heard it from the horse’s mouth directly. http://politi.co/2bSfeTd...Don’t miss Rep. Lynn Westmoreland’s (R-Ga.) pretty scathing quote: "I was a Club-endorsed candidate when I first ran for Congress. I had to go through a very thorough interview by a committee of Club members at their office ... to make sure I agreed with their issues. Now I'm told that the Club is taking a different approach. Now all a candidate has to do is be endorsed by the House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan. The Club is spending their members' money on candidates that don't necessarily line up with their core principles on immigration or free trade. I don't understand the coordination and I would think it would be a surprise to Club members."